Avid /ˈæv·ɪd/ adjective 1. Having a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something.

Avid
/ˈæv·ɪd/ adjective 1. Having a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something.

Treatment Approach

At Avid Speech Therapy, we create a fun, engaging, and encouraging environment where children of all ages can thrive. Our therapy sessions are dynamic and tailored to your child’s unique interests, making learning feel like play while embedding effective strategies to build communication and feeding skills.

We take a neurodiversity-affirming and evidence-based approach—celebrating each child’s natural strengths and communication style rather than trying to “fix” behaviors. Our goal is to support and expand on what makes your child uniquely them.

We believe that parents and caregivers are essential partners in the therapy journey. That’s why we provide practical strategies and take-home guidance each week, empowering families to support progress beyond the clinic.

Treatment Approach

At Avid Speech Therapy, we create a fun, engaging, and encouraging environment where children of all ages can thrive. Our therapy sessions are dynamic and tailored to your child’s unique interests, making learning feel like play while embedding effective strategies to build communication and feeding skills.

We take a neurodiversity-affirming and evidence-based approach—celebrating each child’s natural strengths and communication style rather than trying to “fix” behaviors. Our goal is to support and expand on what makes your child uniquely them.

We believe that parents and caregivers are essential partners in the therapy journey. That’s why we provide practical strategies and take-home guidance each week, empowering families to support progress beyond the clinic.

Meet the Team

Meet the Team

Narissa Ventress

Director, M.A., CCC-SLP

With a background enriched by 15 years of clinical practice and 4 years of teaching, Narissa brings a unique blend of skills and insights to her role as clinic director. Her depth of knowledge enables her to offer superior care to every client. She continually seeks to enhance her therapeutic relationships and create innovative programs designed to align with clients’ long-term goals.

Jason Kina

Operations, SLPA, Languages: Japanese

Jason is highly skilled pediatric clinician with a passion for child development. He is a licensed SLPA and is an active member of the California Speech and Hearing Association. After graduating from Orange Coast College in 2009 with an A.S. in Speech Language Pathology Assisting, he’s practiced speech therapy in both the public school and private practice sectors. Jason brings more than just technical know-how, he’s adept at dealing with all of the dynamics involved in communication, from moderate to severe populations.

Jenny Nyhus

Client Care Coordinator

Jenny is a cornerstone of a well-run clinical practice. She has a B.A. Communicative Disorders and has demonstrated her passion for pediatric speech therapy for over 15 years. She now serves families by coordinating treatment and ensuring a total-care client experience. Born and raised in Southern California, Jenny is a mother of 2 and spends personal time with her family, cooking, reading, and traveling.

Kara Gehersky

M.A., CCC-SLP, Languages: Spanish

Kara is a licensed SLP and part-time lecturer and clinic supervisor at California State University of Long Beach. Before completing her Masters in Communicative Disorders in 2014, Kara studied Linguistics at UC Santa Cruz and in Spain. She specializes in early intervention, performing assessments, treatment, and language translation (Spanish) for varying disabilities and diagnoses (e.g., autism, fluency disorders, articulation disorders and social groups).

Leslie Persona-Lancaster

M.C.D., CCC-SLP

Leslie is a licensed SLP and ASHA member. She received her B.A in English before completing her Master of Communicative Disorders degree at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Her success implementing therapies in an acute rehab environment sets her apart, treating speech-language, cognitive-linguistic and swallowing deficits. She has also demonstrated proficiency diagnosing and treating dysphagia, aphasia, dysarthria, and expressive/receptive language disorders secondary to CVA, TBI and dementia.

Narissa Ventress

Director, M.A., CCC-SLP

With a background enriched by 15 years of clinical practice and 4 years of teaching, Narissa brings a unique blend of skills and insights to her role as clinic director. Her depth of knowledge enables her to offer superior care to every client. She continually seeks to enhance her therapeutic relationships and create innovative programs designed to align with clients’ long-term goals.

Jason Kina

Operations, SLPA, Languages: Japanese

Jason is highly skilled pediatric clinician with a passion for child development. He is a licensed SLPA and is an active member of the California Speech and Hearing Association. After graduating from Orange Coast College in 2009 with an A.S. in Speech Language Pathology Assisting, he’s practiced speech therapy in both the public school and private practice sectors. Jason brings more than just technical know-how, he’s adept at dealing with all of the dynamics involved in communication, from moderate to severe populations.

Jenny Nyhus

Administrator

Jenny is a cornerstone of a well-run clinical practice. She has a B.A. Communicative Disorders and has demonstrated her passion for pediatric speech therapy for over 15 years. She now serves families by coordinating treatment and ensuring a total-care client experience. Born and raised in Southern California, Jenny is a mother of 2 and spends personal time with her family, cooking, reading, and traveling.

Kara Gehersky

M.A., CCC-SLP, Languages: Spanish

Kara is a licensed SLP and part-time lecturer and clinic supervisor at California State University of Long Beach. Before completing her Masters in Communicative Disorders in 2014, Kara studied Linguistics at UC Santa Cruz and in Spain. She specializes in early intervention, performing assessments, treatment, and language translation (Spanish) for varying disabilities and diagnoses (e.g., autism, fluency disorders, articulation disorders and social groups).

Leslie Persona-Lancaster

M.C.D., CCC-SLP

Leslie is a licensed SLP and ASHA member. She received her B.A in English before completing her Master of Communicative Disorders degree at the University of South Carolina, Columbia. Her success implementing therapies in an acute rehab environment sets her apart, treating speech-language, cognitive-linguistic and swallowing deficits. She has also demonstrated proficiency diagnosing and treating dysphagia, aphasia, dysarthria, and expressive/receptive language disorders secondary to CVA, TBI and dementia.

Qualifications and Training

  • California Licensed Speech-Language Pathologist

  • ASHA Certificate of Clinical Competency

  • California Speech-Language Pathology Services Credential

  • Certification in Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS)

  • The Kaufman Speech to Language Protocol, K-SLP

  • It Takes Two to Talk® — The Hanen Program®

“The greatest sign of success for a speech therapist … is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.”
Avid Speech • (inspired by Maria Montessori)